Apple iOS users have outspent Android users during the US Black Friday event by almost 470% in 2014. iOS users led in most headline eCommerce metrics, including Average Order Value, Conversion Rate and Share of Traffic, according to IBM.

For Android this is an improvement on 2013 results when the corresponding number was 630%. Still, the dominance of Apple's relatively affluent userbase makes the iOS platform appealing for online retailers, despite its lacklustre performance in smartphone platform headline stats.

Some retailers will have the luxury of dedicating enough resources to both of the major mobile platforms. However, most will choose to concentrate on one platform at a time.

The incongruity between headline smartphone platform stats and usage metrics makes choosing the right platform to prioritise a complex decision. On the face of it Android has an insurmountable lead -- its market share among smartphone shipments globally is 82%. However, as we've learned from Black Friday statistics, a deeper look is required in order to make an appropriate decision for your business.

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iOS maintains respectable market share in many developed countries, including US - 42%, UK - 31%, Australia - 38%. But the Apple platform's true strength is in its userbase, which browses more websites, converts at a higher rate and buys more on their devices.

Here is a telling statistic: during Black Friday 2014, a full 20% of US online sales were completed on an Apple iOS device.